The MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) organization runs an underwater robotics competition each year. Each team must submit a technical report detailing thir robot.

The reports from this year have just been posted online. Check them out at this link: Team Reports.

Note: There are two classes: Explorer (for advanced teams) and Ranger (for highschool teams). Check out this You-Tube video about the competition.

This is a great audio file about how Dean Kamen started FIRST, and where it is now.

He even talks about the "WWF for smart people" quote from the President at the 2008 Championship.

Click to listen

About 60 students, teachers and parents from Crellin School were given the VIP treatment at GEARS last week.

The school visitors were divided into 6 groups and they circulated through a range of robot activities. Young robotics team members demonstrated each activity to the visitors.

Demonstrations included: FIRST Robotics Competition, FIRST Tech Challenge, FIRST LEGO League, SuGO Robots, Summer Tech Camps and the SeaPerch Underwater robotics camp.

Here's a photo from last year's camp.
Ever seen a bunch of more engrossed kids?

Here we have four work-tables set up for four concurrent construction acivities.
Each camper rotates through all the tables to construct their own SeaPerch robot.
Right now it looks like they are working on the PVC frame, Wire Tether and Motor waterproofing.

In the background you can see the 1800 gallon tank that we use to run underwater challenges.

FRC team 1629 (GaCo) advances further than ever before at the recent FIRST Robotics Competition in Altanta Georgia.

Competing in the Newton division along with 90 other teams, GaCo ended the qualifying rounds in 8th place. This guarenteed them a place in the playoffs. GaCo ended up as the captain of the #7 alliance, but was eliminated in the Quarter Finals.

GaCo continues to advance furthe

At the recent National FIRST Championships, our rookie G-Force team (2818 in gold) joined ranks with FTC teams 577 (in blue) and 39 (in black) to form a winning division alliance. G-Force was unbeaten throughout the divisional competition, along with team 577. 577 was the 1# seeded team, and G-Force was the #3 seed.

After clinching the divison, the alliance went on the the finals, but couldn't continue their winning streak. "We'll win next year" the team members were heard to say :)

GEARS will be running our SeaPerch underwater robotics camp again this summer.

The camp was sold out last year, and all 16 participants had fun building and running their Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's) in the cool tank that Garrett Container Systems built us.

Once again we'll be taking 16 lucky kids through this underwater experience where they can build their own robot, and take it home after the camp. They will learn how to assmble a PVC robot frame, waterproof electric motors, solder wires and circuit boards and build attachments for performing specialized tasks.

Imagine my surprise when Erik Wood told me that our FTC robot was on the FIRST home page.

I had see our buddies 177 (Twisted Bots) in the lower left image, but I hadn't even noticed the inverted 2818 in the shaded image.

That was a pretty cool moment leading up to the finals where we were ascending the ramp, and had deployed our bucket to hold on to the dead robot at the top of the ramp.